Cheese and Onion Pie

Our friend Julia has perfect timing. Occasionally, I help her with her website, Fibre Fantastics, and in return, she cooks us dinner or sends us a recipe.

At the beginning of the summer, we were planning a brunch with some friends. Julia's email arrived right on schedule - the day Meredith and I were planning the menu. Her recipe's two main ingredients are two of my favourite foods: cheese and onions. It must be served for the brunch!

The morning of the brunch, I chopped the onions started on the salads and ran (well, drove) to the bakery. The cheese pie was pretty much done when I got home.

The brunch was a success. In addition to the great company and the cheese and onion pie, we served bagels, pressed cottage cheese, egg salad, herring, my kitchen sink salad, a pickle plate and our friends brought an amazing apple pie.

Cheese and Onion Pie

• 1 pie shell
• 3 medium onions, sliced thinly
• 1 cup water
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• salt
• pepper
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. Line pie plate with pastry, prick with a fork and bake at 350-degrees for 10 minutes.
3. Place onions in a wide saucepan with 1 cup water and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce to medium-low and simmer, covered for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.
5. Beat together eggs, milk salt and pepper.
6. Assemble the pie by placing half of the onions in the pie shell, then mozzarella cheese. Add rest of onions, cheddar cheese, and pour egg mixture over the final layer of cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until set.
Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Eggplant Lasagna with Tortilla

In August, my mother-in-law brought me a huge eggplant from the market, leaving me wondering what to do with it. Meredith is still off garlic, so a giant tub of baba ghannouj wasn't going to happen.

I also had a container of ricotta cheese I had bought on sale without any particular plans, so I started looking for eggplant lasagna recipes. The one that caught my eye used tortilla as well (to capture some of the moisture, I assume) and it looked like an appetizing base. In the original recipe, it was presented far nicer than anything I could do: baked in individual mini-lasagna pans with dainty layers of flavour presented quite nicely.

That's not my style (I'm lazy), so I opted for the casserole dish instead. It also helped use as much of that giant eggplant as I could. The pile of sliced eggplant was huge.

Eggplant Lasagna with Tortilla


1 container (400g) ricotta
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tbsp dried parsley
3 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt, pinch or to taste
1 medium eggplant, thinly sliced (optional: peel first)
3 tortillas sliced into 3” strips
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups tomato sauce
additional Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. In a, bowl mix the ricotta and Parmesan and fold in the egg, parsley, basil, nutmeg, and salt. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Assemble the lasagna as follows:
1. tortilla
2. cheese mixture
3. shredded cheese
4. sauce
5. eggplant (gently press down on the eggplant)
6. cheese mixture
7. shredded cheese
8. sauce
4. Complete the cycle two more times for a total of 24 layers, ending with sauce.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan on the final layer.
6. Bake for 50 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Chickpea-flour Pizza in Cast Iron

(originally published March 14, 2010, republished for Meatless Mondays)

Since today is about remembering (but not like the more important days of not forgetting), I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the fabled bag of chickpea flour today.

A few months ago, a colleague told me about a bag of chickpea flour she had in her pantry. Her daughter had bought it to prepare a dish – apparently it was a one-time thing. I gladly offered to take it off her hands.

About a month later, she announced that the flour had made it from the pantry to the hallway, and would eventually make it to work. A few weeks later, I suggested blocking the front door with the flour so she won't be able to leave home without picking it up.

Shortly after, the flour arrived.

The next question was "what to do with it?" It wasn't until then that it dawned on me that chickpea flour is gluten-free. I immediately thought of my brother and sister-in-law of Gluten Free Edmonton and cobbled together a recipe for a cast-iron pizza with tomatoes and onions that's fried and then broiled.

Chickpea-flour Pizza in Cast Iron

• 2/3 cup chickpea flour
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp rosemary (finely chopped fresh or dried)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp minced tomato
• 1 tbsp minced onion
• 3 tbsp mozzarella
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Sift the chickpea flour and salt together into a mixing bowl.
2. Slowly add 1/4 cup water, whisking constantly unit it forms a smooth paste.
3. Add the remaining water, whisk and let the batter stand for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat broiler while batter is standing.
5. Stir in rosemary when batter is ready.
6. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a 12-inch cast-iron pan (or nonstick oven-proof skillet). Stir the batter and pour into the pan.
7. Cook the pizza over medium heat until the bottom is golden and crisp and the top is almost set, (2 to 3 minutes). Break any large air bubbles with the tip of a knife and drizzle the remaining olive oil on top.
8. Sprinkle the tomato, onion, cheese and pepper on the pizza and put the skillet under the broiler. Broil until the pizza is golden and crisp, (2 to 5 minutes).
9. Slide the pizza onto a board, cut into wedges and serve hot.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen

Broccoli Salad with Cranberries

Photo courtesy of Hungry Jenny

With smaller florets

For the last Christmas dinner of the season (just after New Year's), we were asked to bring the broccoli.

Not only was it on sale (bonus!), but it was my chance to make a broccoli salad similar to the one that our friend Sue is famous for. 

Since Sue was in New York City whooping it up with Ryan Seacrest as the ball was dropping Thursday night, I was left to fend for myself figuring out a recipe.

Broccoli Salad with Cranberries

Salad

• 5 cups broccoli florets, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (I prefer sharp cheddar cheese but I was out)
• 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon
• 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 1 cup shelled sunflower seeds

Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

1. In a large salad bowl, mix all salad ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, beat all dressing ingredients with wire whisk until blended.
3. Spoon over salad and toss.
4. Refrigerate for one hour before serving. Leftovers can be refrigerated.

(inspired by RecipeZaar Broccoli with Cranberries Salad)

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes